Cervelo’s new P3 Carbon created a buzz in the triathlon world like no other single bike in the history of the sport. It was the first triathlon bike to win “Best of Show” from two media outlets at the Las Vegas Interbike Show in 2004 during its surprise unveiling. Since the introduction of the P3C and its much anticipated arrival on shop floors earlier this year people have scrambled to get P3 Carbons.

Click to make bigger After fitting most sizes of P3C we learned a great deal about working with Cervelo's new superbike.

Click to make bigger Careful positioning when you buy your P3 Carbon will optimize your ownership experience.

There is good reason for the excitement. The P3 Carbon is the least expensive and may be the best of the “Superbike” triathlon bike category. With a published US Retail of $4399 on Cervelo’s website for the Dura-Ace equipped P3 Carbon it is not an inexpensive bike, but it is a bargain. By contrast, a Quintana Roo Lucero with Dura-Ace is nearly $1000 north of the P3C on price alone at $5295.00 and does not feature the same aerodynamic benefits or the esteemed Tour de France pedigree as the P3C.

This isn’t a review of the Cervelo P3 Carbon.

It is an overview of the considerations that should surround your investigation of whether or not a Cervelo P3 Carbon is a suitable choice for you. No one bike is perfect for everyone and the primary determining factor in whether or not a bike is an optimal choice is ultimately a matter of if it fits you optimally: Your dimensions compared to the bike dimensions. With the fervor surrounding the release of the P3 Carbon at Interbike 2005 in September ’04 it is worth tempering the enthusiasm for the bike with some investigation of its dimensions and features.

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There is the name of the size... and then there are the dimnsions of the bike.

First, some background: Cervelo’s original P3 is the design that changed the way functional aerodynamic frames look. Cervelo’s Phil White and Gerard Vroomen got their start in vehicle design largely with Human Powered Vehicles. There is a heavy emphasis on aerodynamics and materials applications in HPV design and construction. More importantly, HPV designers operate largely unfettered by the constraints of conventional bicycle design. They are free to meld shapes and fairings almost at will without concern for the restrictive rules of cycling and triathlon governing bodies. In short, Vroomen and White got their start thinking way outside of the box. The P3 was the first attempt to put those thoughts in a saleable, ride-able, competitively rule compliant package for bicycle racing and triathlon use.

Click to make bigger A classsic aero position on a new P3C with a slightly higher front end for good comfort.

To say that the P3 family is a success is a polite understatement. The designation “P3” has now grown into a family of bikes with a long lineage of proven design and a list of race victories completely unmatched by any other time trial/triathlon specific frame in history.

These are the facts:

• Stock P3’s, P3SL’s and P3 Carbons have been ridden in every major Tour de France and stage race time trial since their introduction. These are the same bikes on your Cervelo dealer’s floor. No matter how much money you have, you can likely never own Michael Schumacher’s Formula 1 Ferrari, but you can own exactly the same frame Ivan Basso and David Zabriskie rode in the Tour de France. No other triathlon/time trial bike manufacturer can say that.
  
• The P3 family has scored victories in every distance triathlon from sprint to Ironman and from the age group ranks up to numerous top professional Ironman victories. This is more impressive when you consider that Cervelo gives away so few frames for sponsorships. Most Cervelos used by pros to win an Ironman had to be bought by the athlete.
  
• No other aero frame in history has had the same sales and race success as the Cervelo P3 family.
  
• As compared to the Quintana Roo Lucero, Isaac Joule, Kuota Kalibur and Guru Crono, the Cervelo P3C is the least expensive of the molded carbon fiber, aerodynamic triathlon bikes.
  
• No other carbon fiber triathlon bike has a rear wheel cutout as precisely and tightly spaced to the rear tire as the P3 Carbon, this is a significant determining factor in improving rear wheel and frame aerodynamics.

Click to make bigger My Cervelo P3SL in 53 cm parked against a 54cm P3 Carbon. For me, the P3SL has been a more precise fit.

With that kind of resume the success of the P3 is impossible to dispute. As the early aluminum P3’s evolved the team of Vroomen/White occasionally alluded to the fact that other materials may take the P3 design concept to a new level.

Following the introduction of the P3SL version of the original P3 in ‘04/05 Cervelo surprised the bike industry by unveiling the P3 Carbon in Las Vegas. The P3C fit in with the rest of the Vegas show girls- dressed in meshy black and red, difficult to get near, impossible to touch and characterized by an alluring set of curves in all the right places. The P3 Carbon mania was born. The bike won “Best of Show” from several media outlets covering the Interbike Las Vegas trade show. People lined up to plunk down cash for the bikes even though the delivery time was over the horizon. The P3 Carbon is like an exotic sports car- exclusive, sexy and tricky to obtain. To their credit, Cervelo delivered. Inventories of P3 Carbons, long since sold through, arrived on schedule throughout the ’05 model year and continue to flow. Production runs do continue to remain sold out well in advance of their completion though.

Click to make bigger Two relative views of the size difference between the 53cm P3SL and the 54cm P3C.

Click to make bigger For me, the 54cm P3C was too large, while the smaller 51 cm P3C was slightly small. The 53 cm P3SL is my perfect fit in the P3 family.

And like an exotic Ferrari, Porsche or Lamborghini the P3 Carbon can be cantankerous to buy and fit. As the honeymoon nears its end after a year of swooning over the P3 Carbon it is time to see what it looks like with curlers in its hair and no make-up at 5:00 AM.

Although Cervelo’s President Gerard Vroomen argues differently, P3 Carbon can be a tricky fit. A wild ratio of seat tube length to top tube length and a massive and schizophrenic swing of seat angles make it a very large palate for a bike fitter to work on when positioning a rider. It is very easy to get the fit and position wrong. To make matters more confounding, the size names of the P3 Carbon are rooted in “virtual dimensions” and are highly codified. This is “virtual sizing” at its best, and may have been better served with more subjective designations such as T-Shirt size names like “Small, Medium and Large” As it is, the numerical designations for the size names are simply confusing.

Click to make bigger Here is a look at the actual seat tube length dimension on a 54cm frame.

Click to make bigger From center of bottom bracket to top of seat tube the 54 cm frame measures exactly 51.3 cm.

The P3 Carbon is sold in six different size names: 48 (with 650c wheels), 51, 54, 56, 58 and 61. There is almost no connection between the names of the sizes and the dimensions of the sizes. For instance, a size named 56cm Cervelo P3 Carbon has a seat tube that measures exactly 52.7 centimeters from the center of the bottom bracket shell to the top of the seat tube in a straight line. Measured from center to center the 56cm named P3C is 50.5 centimeters. Initially these dimensions sound miniscule for a bike called a 56cm, but the length of the top tube and structural role of the seat post on the P3 Carbon in fitting and positioning make the bike actually run a trifle large for a 56cm frame- even though it only measures 52.7 centimeters total seat tube length for a 56cm frame. Confused? Keep on reading…

Click to make bigger Top tube length dimension is 58 cm total on a 54 cm size name frame.	Click to make bigger Here is a look at the total 58 cm measurement to the 3.5 cm center of the 7 cm deep seatpost.
Click to make bigger And a depiction of the difference between the "actual" dimension including the white bracket and the "functional" dimension.

When you put the tape measure on the 56cm Cervelo P3 Carbon’s top tube you find out it measures an expansive 60 centimeters from center of seat tube to center of head tube. Cervelo’s website reports the top tube length at 54.5 cm when configured in the 78 degree seat tube angle orientation and 58.9 centimeters when configured in the 75 degree orientation. And this is where it gets fuzzy: In fitting numerous P3 Carbons we effectively agree with Cervelo’s representation of the “virtual” top tube lengths. However, as the rider trends toward the steep end of the fit envelope they may be better served to transition down a frame size to the 54 centimeter frame to avoid having to use too short of a handlebar stem.

Click to make bigger The super aerodynamic, massive carbon seatpost provides generous fore/aft adjustment.

The P3 Carbon uses a massive 7 cm deep carbon fiber, aerodynamic bladed seat post that is proprietary to Cervelo. The head of the post features two orifices that enable the clamp to be oriented in a forward configuration or a more relaxed rearward orientation. One 5 millimeter bolt adjusts the saddle tilt or angle and clamps the angle in place. The adjustment for angle from the horizontal (angle of attack?) is universal. It is not ratcheted even though there are splines to help the assembly stay tight. This is important since you can achieve any angle with the saddle. The clamping assembly is the best on any bike I’ve seen. It is solid, durable and extremely difficult to damage. Several other bike manufacturers could learn a lot from this design. It really works very, very well and is extremely easy to adjust. One criticism, if you like to ride with your saddle slightly off center, angled to one side or the other, you can’t do that on a P3 Carbon. The saddle must be in straight orientation to the frame.

The total range of adjustment fore/aft on the saddle is +/- 7 cm at least. That is a huge range of relative seat tube angles. This is where bike fitters may get lost. With a tendency to get onto to a larger size than may be optimal due to the top tube length there will be some P3C’s set up with the rider in wrong place over the bottom bracket. The issue with a bike that has such a large fit band is the fitter is largely responsible for getting it right.

Click to make bigger The difference between the rearward most configuration of the P3C and the forward most is a massive 7 cm.

Click to make bigger Bike fitters have a huge range of adjustment for their clients and it is important to get it right.

I’ve done a number of fittings on the 51cm, 54cm and 56cm P3 Carbons. In two instances the people who bought 54cm frames were switched onto 51cm frames. In my opinion, the P3C has a tendency to run large.

I originally ordered a 54cm P3C for myself as a race bike. Consumer demand meant my bike kept getting passed over to deliver bikes to customers who bought bikes a year ago. When he 54cm did arrive for me I did a test fitting and found its proportions were too large. Earlier this year I was on a 53cm Cervelo P3SL which was a perfect fit.

Click to make bigger A relative view of the 56cm frame on the left and the 51 cm frame on the right for comparison.

Click to make bigger Another look at the comparison of head tube height between a 56 cm P3C and 51 cm.

The 53 cm P3SL had a 52.1 centimeter seat tube from center of bottom bracket to top of seat tube. The 54cm P3 Carbon has a 51.3 centimeter seat tube from center of bottom bracket to top of seat tube. That means the “smaller” P3SL in 53cm is actually 8 millimeters larger than the 54cm P3C.

Click to make bigger Elegant, durable, lightweight, simple and secure: Cervelo's design of their seatpost head is brilliant.

Click to make bigger One bolt provides easy adjustment and secure clamping. There is almost nothing to fail. Other bike companies could learn a lot form this.

The 53 cm P3SL has a total top tube length of 56 cm measured center to center. The 54cm P3 Carbon has a top tube length of 58 cm measured center to center, partially due to the thickness or depth of the seat tube.

Head tubes measure 102 millimeters for the 54cm P3C and 87 millimeters on the 53cm P3SL.

My impressions of riding the P3C in 54cm with the exact same positional dimensions (reach, saddle fore/aft, saddle height) as my 53cm P3SL was that the bike was too large. My 53cm P3SL felt more precise and proportional with better handling, climbing and weight distribution as well as a wider band of “fidget room” to choke up on the aerobars while riding to change positions on the saddle. For me, the 51cm P3C seems to be the better option between the 54 cm and the 51 cm. As I mentioned- it is easy to buy the wrong size in this bike. My recommendation is to visit a good bike fitter with experience fitting and riding P3C’s and take their recommendations.

Click to make bigger My 53 cm P3SL head tube on the left in a lower, more aero orientation and a 54 cm P3C in a higher orientation.

Click to make bigger And another perspective for a relative comparison between 53cm P3SL and 54 cm P3C.

We’ll follow on in a few months with a review of the P3 Carbon after we’ve ridden enough miles in the real world on the bike. Right now, even owning the bike is a difficult proposition for a bike shop owner since customer demand for the bike has been so vigorous. Simply put: No one can keep the bikes in stock. Now that production is up and running and P3 Carbons are being delivered production allocations are selling through literally faster than the bikes can be built. Had we been able to fill every order for a P3 Carbon in 2005 our store would have increased the number of P3 Carbons we delivered by at least five times. If you want a P3 Carbon for the 2006 racing season, you better buy the bike right now.